BUNDGAARD'S BROMANCE
Well, at least you can say Republican state Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard knows how to take a punch. From his girlfriend.

Perusing the photos of Bundgaard's injuries, sent out by the senator's sleazy publicist pal Jason Rose, it looks like the Peoria GOPer forgot to keep his right up.

As everyone under the sun of Satan is now aware, Bundgaard, 43, was caught by the Phoenix cops fighting on the side of State Route 51 with lady companion Aubry Ballard, former director of StreetlightPHX, a nonprofit that fights child sex trafficking.

Arizona Kidney Foundation

Senator Bundgaard practices some smooth moves with his dance partner.

Ballard, 34, was scraped, bruised, and sustained other injuries, but at least she avoided a black eye. The chick can punch, apparently.

Bundgaard claimed that Ballard was jealous that he danced with some babe at a "Dancing with the Stars" charity event. Ballard has told the press that there was more involved, but she hasn't been specific. The two have since split.

I couldn't care less about the fight itself — but the story went viral, with everybody from the Daily Mail in London to CNN to TMZ.com doing a version of it.

The slime factor entered when, according to the cops, Bundgaard pulled the "immunity" card. That's the line in the Arizona State Constitution that says, "Members of the Legislature shall be privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace."

Fighting with your significant other on the side of the road late at night? Sounds like a "breach of the peace" to me.

But Phoenix police cut Bundgaard some legislative slack and let him go.

Membership has its privileges. Heck, even Governor Jan Brewer got out of a DUI charge in 1988 after failing four field-sobriety tests while reeking of booze. Why? Because she was in the freaking Legislature at the time.

Not being a member of the state's lawmaking body means that you get arrested and booked, as Ballard did after her tussle with Bundgaard. She says she spent 17 hours in custody at Sheriff Joe Arpaio's notorious Fourth Avenue Jail.

As anyone who's had to go through Fourth Avenue will tell you, it ain't no ride on a Ferris wheel.

In a whiny, defensive press release sent out by Bundgaard's buddy Rose, Bundgaard stroked himself for using the "Dancing" event to raise cash for the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona.

He also denied that the altercation with Ballard was a "domestic violence" incident, though that's how police described it. And he kvetched that he never invoked legislative immunity, though that's exactly what the police said he did.

So the cops are liars, eh? That is, only when they're making allegations in Bundgaard's direction.

And he boo-hoo'd that the Arizona Republic didn't call him before running its story.

Sheesh, you need a clothespin for that diaper, Senator?

BTW, I called Bundgaard and told him I wanted to ask him a few questions. He said he was busy and would get back to me. He didn't. I called him back and left a message. Naturally, we didn't connect.

On the Senate floor recently, Bundgaard tearfully apologized to his fellow members, declared that he is not "above the law," and said he never suggested as much. He said the Senate should "revisit" the legislative-immunity portion of the Arizona Constitution, calling it "antiquated" and "archaic."

He said, "Most of us would agree that it has no place in public service and should be eliminated."

I'll give him points for that, though Bundgaard and everyone, really, should think twice before enlisting the services of Jason Rose. The bitchy press release was clearly a dumb move and drew more flak for Rose's client, not less.

Plus, having Rose as one of your BFFs signals that his brand of right-wing scumbaggery is a-okay with you.

And Bundgaard and Rose go way back. They reportedly have vacationed together in the past, and Rose recently touted Bundgaard's appearance at a new restaurant Rose is pimping, the Arrogant Butcher.

Alas, Rose doesn't have the best of luck with restaurants. Anyone recall Pink Taco? Rose got his good friend and sometime client Joe Arpaio to plug that one at a press conference for the establishment in 2006. Arpaio claimed ignorance of the anatomical reference.

In any case, the Scottsdale restaurant closed in 2009. Rose's politically themed pub, Nixon's, also is kaput.

The weaselly Rose received some assistance from his pal Bundgaard in 1999, when Bundgaard pushed a bill that would have helped Rose client Steve Ellman build a hockey-themed entertainment park in Scottsdale.

It never happened, and Glendale got the hockey arena instead.

At the time, Bundgaard argued the favor was copacetic because Rose wasn't a lobbyist. Rather he was a PR hack who was his homeboy. He called one citizen who criticized the bill an "irrational imbecile" in a letter. Interestingly, the project had zip to do with his district.

The Rose-Bundgaard bromance also is probably reinforced by Bundgaard's own slithery ways, explored at length over the years by New Times scribes.

As Bundgaard slouched toward a state House seat in Legislative District 19, Silverman pointed out that Bundgaard had caught two years' probation "for his part in a scheme to steal [car stereos] from a Smitty's he worked at in 1986."

His record since has been expunged and his voting rights restored. Bundgaard was reportedly 18 at the time. He ended up scoring endorsements from Arpaio, then-Senate Majority Whip Jan Brewer, and Governor Fife Symington III, who would later be indicted on several counts of corruption and ultimately forced from office.

In 1999, former New Times reporter Terry Greene Sterling dug into Bundgaard's machinations on behalf of one of the Valley's biggest polluters, Walter Lorimor. Bundgaard helped Lorimor with state regulators, getting his fines reduced, finding a buyer for one of Lorimor's dumps ("Scott Free," March 11, and "Keep on Truckin'," July 8).

Hey, anything for a constituent.

Bundgaard presents himself as a big Christian-family-values kind of guy, but as the Good Book says, "By their fruits, ye shall know them." And Bundgaard and Rose's fruit is rancid, and straight from the pail.

PEARCE'S NEMESIS

When I got a call telling me that Phoenix human rights activist Sal Reza had been arrested at the state Senate building as he tried to meet with Senator Steve Gallardo, my first thought was, Jeez, if he has to spend any more time getting booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail, Sheriff Joe should name a wing of the MCSO's vast incarceration complex after him.

Reza still is fighting a charge from his arrest in an act of civil disobedience on July 29, when he and scores of others were collared in an explosion of anti-Senate Bill 1070 sentiment that rocked Phoenix.

That arrest, of course, Reza wanted. It was in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, César Chávez, and other exponents of non-violent civil disobedience.

Of course, as I joked recently with Reza, he has some catching up to do if he wants to be in the King-Gandhi-Chávez league.

But like his heroes, he's not only been arrested for civil disobedience, he's been pinched in retaliation for being a leader in the civil rights struggle here in Phoenix.

Shortly after his July 29 arrest, Reza was collared again — this time wrongly — by a pack of Arpaio's thugs.

The sheriff's underlings claimed Reza had defied a court order. The charge was bogus — so bogus that both the judge and the prosecutor in the case agreed there was no probable cause for the arrest.

Then-Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley dropped the charge.

As I've been covering closely in my Feathered Bastard blog, Reza was arrested on February 24, along with another activist, Anayense Garza, from his group Puente.

Unbeknownst to Reza, state Senate President Russell Pearce had banned him from the Senate. The ban was retribution for Reza's presence on February 22, as he and hundreds of other activists watched a marathon Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on TV in an overflow room.

The activists were not allowed into the smaller room where the hearing actually was held. Only the press and those signed up to speak against the catalog of anti-immigrant bills on tap were allowed in.

Apparently, Pearce was ticked that there were so many demonstrators and activists in his building. Both Pearce and security also were miffed that the folks in the overflow room were applauding whenever one of the senators or the speakers said something they liked.

At one point, Reza was asked to order the observers to be silent. Reza told security that it wasn't his place to tell folks whether to clap or not.

People say the applause was audible in the hearing room, which was down the hall. I was there, covering the proceedings. I didn't hear any of the clapping.

According to the incomplete report issued by the Capitol Police on the arrests, Pearce gave explicit instructions to the officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety concerning the activists.

DPS Sergeant Jeff Trapp wrote the following in a supplement to the report:

"At approximately 2230hrs, Senate President Russell Pearce approached me and requested that the offenders from the overflow seating be identified, photographed, and that the information be posted at the Senate guard desks and that these offenders be denied further entrance into the Senate."

Trapp did this, using photos plucked from the Internet.

So, when Reza and Garza showed up, Reza was told of the ban. He wanted to see something in writing. Sounds reasonable. I mean, who do you know who's ever been banned from a public building? But Reza was given nothing of the kind.

Trapp and another DPS officer, J. Gentry Burton, eventually took Reza into custody. Reza said Burton slammed him against a wall of the lobby. Garza was filming the action, and she ended up getting nabbed as well, though she had not been banned.

Trapp and Burton allege Garza assaulted Trapp. Both DPS guys look to be more than six feet tall. Garza's small, probably a little over five feet. Garza was bruised during the altercation, during which Trapp dragged her by her hair.

Now, Garza faces two felony counts of resisting arrest and assault on an officer, as well as a misdemeanor count of trespassing. Reza has one trespassing count to worry about.

Nice little police state Pearce has turned the Senate into, eh? But what he doesn't get — what he will never get — is that Reza and other activists like him cannot be crushed.

Reza is in it for the long haul. He and the other members of Puente, including Garza, may seem small, powerless, easy to push around . . .

But, then, I'm sure that's what the dictators of the Middle East, like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Libya's Muammar Qaddafi, have thought of demonstrators and opponents heretofore.

What Pearce cannot foresee, but what Reza and his people can, is change.

Is this law Racist? Are the people who agree with this law racist? Are those who want this law enforced racist?

Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact; has committed a federal crime.

Violations are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment for up to six months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense.

i think this guy has had enough bs thrown in his face over this.my ex and me got into it one day in the car coming home from phoenix. i was so irritatatd i just pulled over and stopped and told her to get out of the car. of course she didnt but she did finally shut up (which worked for me). shed told me when she was a kid she hit on of her sisters in the head with a shovel (guess i was lucky in 15 years it never happened to me, of course i dont keep shovels in the house either) heck she could have killed the kid. to me that s pretty radical for a kid. of course nowadays kids use guns not shovels so i guess a shovel hit wouldnt be a bad alternative we know the woman was mad at him for a charity event dance with another woman. she threw his clothes out of the car on the freeway. this isnt the sign of someone thats in control. the thing on freeway happened when she tried to drive off in the car. i didnt see any pictures of any bruises on her but he had a black eye and cuts on his face.me and ex were headed to wisconsin one year and stopped for dinner. this woman there was freaking out. whoever she was with had taken off and left her. this is in the middle of kansas and theyve got these wierd truck and rest stops built between the lanes of the freeway. this woman was totallly freaking. never did find out what happened to her. anyway i think this guy is getting RAWHIDED on this domestic abuse thing

I wish someone would really look into Bundgaard, he should not be in Government. Perhaps his former girlfriends also had issues with him and stalking? Him stealing directly from his friends? How did he pay for his college? I personally think he is a scary man. I wouldn't call him a Christian. And Rose, when did they become friends again?

I want meet this dark raven haired blue eyed street fighting dancing women. where can i find her? she is a very sexy good looking blue eyed devil and i love women like her. anybody know how i can reach her by phone or email? im a real sweet fit in shape tan tall blue eyed blond haired guy and i dont beat women. im a lover not a fighter. and im funny as hell i have been told by the ladies and im very handsome and im an Irish writer and musician. what more could a women want?

The most disturbing news is that President of the Senate Russell Pearce said Bungaard was the "victim"... and the girlfriend is 5' tall? What a couple of bullies and cowards. Truly sickening. Kept the girlfriend locked up long enough to get his story out "first", in true Arizona "elitist" men style.

That why when I hear politicians like cocksucker Pearce say that they follow the "rule of law" that they are full of shit. Both him and douche bag Bundgaard have a similar common for beating up their spouses. But, hey at least Bundgaard girlfriend took no shit and fought back. But, then this douche come up to the cops and says he exempt from arrest because he is a state senate. I wish that his girlfriend gave him a black eye.

this story is more proof that spoiled white females think they can do what ever they want in life legal or not. and when they get pinched and go to jail they whine snivel cry and complain like big cry babies on tv about how it all was unfair for her to get treated this way.nobody likes a sniveler.

she just showed by her violent act that she is a low life bottom feeder white trash female jail bird who steals boyfriends cars and has a violent temper. let this be a warning to any men out there who might date her in the future. if she did it once she will do it again. once a beater always a beater. fuck her a few times and send her down the road like the white trash blue eyed yuppie whore she is. this broad is trouble to any man who comes around her. dont ever trust her!

He is scary? LOL he is a pussy ass nerd dork geek yuppie i could blow him over with my bad breath. whats there to be scared of? he is a straight short haired clean cut mommy's boy. if you wanna see scary men come to any of the Hells Angels clubhouses at local Phoenix locations. WE ARE SCARY AS HELL! CHICO, HELLS ANGELS PHOENIX ARIZONA.

after 20+ years of that womens cult leader fat black Oprah Winfrey on tv leading and teaching the women of America how to live and think better and make better choices in life you would think women would be alot more wiser than this broad who hits and punches men. ladies, never hit or punch anyone who is bigger and stronger than you man or women. men dont do that so why are women so dumb as to hit a bigger stronger man? shows you how stupid females are. i guess Oprah didnt get threw to some of you out there. like thats a big surprise.

women woke up in the 60s and 70s. but now in 2011 they are all now back asleep. they are all to lazy and stupid to wake up in todays society. they talk alot but do nothing. most still depend on men financially way to much. good luck with waking women up. i dont ever see that happening in this world.

No it's not about the women -- it's all about the power of the good ole elitist men's club who wipe out their women in a heartbeat. This is a good lesson for those women dating or married to "elitist" men. This is who is behind ALL the laws to take women's rights away. Unfortunately the young women of the day didn't live during the back-alley abortion era like our mothers and grandmothers -- but it's coming and it will be tragic in the 21st century. If you think this is not about you, think again. Hope Aubry becomes a spokeswoman for the uninformed Arizona women.

We're there for her! Friends and supporters, now is the time to come forward and take action -- it could be you next time. If you think it's not about you, think again! Read the comments to see what women in Arizona face.

We'll be at the court hearings to witness "Arizona" justice. He should be facing Arizona's draconian mandatory minimum sentencing. A minimum of 10 years or if he takes a plea -- one year in jail and labeled "violent felon" -- and no voting rights -- that will help his future career.

To find out how that works, get educated, read "Accidental Felons" by Daniel Horne to get an idea of what that's all about. Former MCAO Thomas and company had no trouble destroying this successful CFO's life and that of his family and children. All those same good ole boys are still sitting in the MCAO carrying on the "tradition". The ones who wrongfullly convicted, Ray Krone, an innocent man who spent years on Arizona's Death Row. Bungaard can face them. They've set precedent in their "rubber stamp", cookie-cutter work -- so read the cases.

we'll be at the court hearings to witness "Arizona" justice. He'll should be facing Arizona's draconian mandatory minimum sentencing. A minimum of 10 years or if he takes a plea -- one year in jail and labeled "violent felon" -- that will help his future career. Read "Accidental Felons" by Daniel Horne to get an idea of what that's all about. Former MCAO Thomas and company had no trouble destroying this successful CFO's life and that of his family and children.

she sounds more like a violent psycho witch bitch who uses violence to solve her insecurities and problems. she needs to take responsibility for her actions. violence is never the answer!. or are you saying violence is ok for a women to use it on a man? and its wrong for a man to use it on a women? thats a double standard. both ways are wrong. she was wrong to touch him at all. she needs to get mental help for her violent temper.

BB, It's called "self-defense" and how is that handled in Arizona's statutes? Laws written for men NOT women, in a state is "controlled" by good ole boys long past their prime -- taking the state back decades, failing the people and holding them back, uneducated with their rights stripped away.

shack up with an old school outlaw 1%er biker and you will be treated alot better than with a straight white yuppie male. dont believe me? ask any bikers old lady if she is treated well. she will say hell fucking yes im treated very well.

come forward and and take action? women did all that in the 1960s womens feminist movement. where were you then? look at where women are now. they didnt advance or get any smarter in today's society. if anything they got worse by getting stupider, dumber, fatter and more lazy and dependent on men.

anon he will get a fine $ maybe anger management classes maybe and probation maybe and or a few hours of community service and thats about it. there will be no jail time at all for either of them. quit being so dramatic you law abiding no nothing buffoon.

if they hit me first i will hit them back. but i never start it. remember the 1960s womens movement that made women equal to men? its now ok to smack a broad if she hits you first. its called equal rights. if a cunt acts like a man and punches you like a man you will get punched back like a man. so all you cunts out there remember this rule. you may not like this way but it is the way most men think. so beware next time one of you cunts thinks your a tough guy and hits a man anytime you want. you might just get the fucking shit beat out of you.

quit your female whining and sniveling and move to another state already. there is no perfect garden of Eden or nirvana on this earth. i looked for it already for the past 40 years in my rock and roll gypsy travels. and it aint there and it does not exist. so you gotta tough it out till your dead and gone from this earth. DIG?

you should move to an all female state or start a new all female lezbo state for lezbo carpet munchers only. female lezbos beat each other up to. in this world no one is safe from violence or from anybody or anything. call on god for best results.